Unite for Safe Medications organizes protest at Express Scripts headquarters
Some 300 or more patients, pharmacists and community advocates are expected to gather on Friday, May 17, at Express Scripts’ corporate offices in St. Louis, to hold a demonstration organized by Unite for Safe Medications founder Loretta Boesing.
"Countless patients and pharmacists are devastated by the loss of their local pharmacies,” said USFM founder and protest organizer Loretta Boesing. “Safe and convenient access to medications is vital, and these closures are a public health crisis. We must unite to protect patients from the destructive practices of PBMs.”
The demonstration will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A post on the National Community Pharmacists Association said that its CEO Douglas Hoey will be in attendance on May 17 along with pharmacists, patients, caregivers and physicians who are "expected to protest patient steering."
[Read more: Pharmacy groups urge passage of PBM reform legislation in 118th Congress]
“Patient steering, protest organizers say, might be a lucrative business strategy for vertically integrated PBMs, but it ultimately offers no benefits to patients who get lost in the shuffle when their prescriptions are transferred to other pharmacies—often without their knowledge. Patient steering, say most community pharmacists, also equates to lost business for them, giving PBMs another unfair advantage in their war of attrition against independent businesses," NCPA said.
"NCPA has been fighting back for years. Just last month, NCPA pushed ESI to revise contract terms to align with its obligation to offer “reasonable and relevant” terms and conditions for participation in a Medicare Part D pharmacy network, and to revise its “bonus pool fee” to align with federal policy and, in January, NCPA applauded a major class action lawsuit alleging that ESI colluded with other PBMs to rig reimbursement rates," NCPA said.
According to Unite For Safe Medications, in addition to NCPA, organizations participating in the protest also include: AIDS Healthcare Foundation, American Pharmacists Association, Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency and the Missouri Pharmacists Association.
[Read more: Pharmacy orgs urge Congress to include PBM reforms in Medicare, Medicaid in funding agreement]